Box Office: 'American Hustle' Catching Up With 'Wolf of Wall Street'

Martin Scorsese'sThe Wolf of Wall Street and David O. Russell's holdover American Hustle -- both critical and award darlings -- are in a close race at the Thursday box office, with both films expected to gross in the $6 million to $6.5 million range for the day. Wolf, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is ultimately expected to pull ahead by $200,000 to $300,000 to take the No. 4 spot.

Topping Thursday overall are three holdovers -- Warner Bros.' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Disney's family hit Frozen and Paramount's Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. The trio of films are expected to take in an estimated $10 million, $9 million and $7 million, respectively.

Wolf of Wall Street, one of six films launching nationwide on Dec. 25, ended its first day in a virtual tie with Desolation of Smaug (it isn't unusual for a film opening on the holiday to slip on its second day, particularly an R-rated film such as Wolf). Scorsese's film, fully financed for $100 million by Red Granite Pictures, stars DiCaprio as Wall Street bad-boy Jordan Belfort.

Paramount is releasing and marketing Wolf of Wall Street, which barely received an R rating (Scorsese agreed to trim certain sex scenes in order to avoid getting slapped with an NC-17). The big question is whether the movie, expected to do especially well on both coasts, will play in America's heartland (the film's C CinemaScore could be an indication of the split). Sporting a running time of two hours and 59 minutes, Wolf marks Scorsese's longest film by a minute, topping Casino.

Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle are among a crowded menu of awards contenders looking to build their profile over the year-end holidays. 20th Century Fox's Christmas Day entry The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, directed by and starring Ben Stiller, is holding at No. 6 on its second day with a gross in the $5 million range, not far ahead of Disney holdover Saving Mr. Banks.

47 Ronin looks to come in No. 8 on its second day with less than $4 million. The samurai epic, starring KeanuReeves and costing at least $175 million to produce, is destined to lose a substantial amount of money, considering it needs to earn hundreds of millions of dollars globally. The movie, originally set to open in November 2012, is off to a soft start in several key Asian markets, including Japan, and it could have trouble reaching $20 million in its five-day domestic debut. Universal co-financed the film with Elliott Management.

Universal has known the film was troubled financially for quite some time and says it has already accounted for a potential loss. "Universal Pictures regularly evaluates its film slate for potential adjustment. In the case of 47Ronin, we adjusted film costs in previous quarters and as a result our financial performance will not be negatively impacted this quarter by its theatrical performance," the studio said in a statement.

Grudge Match, about a pair of aging boxers who decide to take each other on one last time, may come in No. 10 or No. 11 on Thursday, with earnings in the $2 million range.

Bieber'sBelieve isn't even cracking the top 10 and may have trouble grossing $10 million in its first five days. The documentary is holding at No. 13 on Thursday with a tepid $1 million. In February 2011, Beiber concert doc Never Say Never opened in more than 3,000 theaters to a strong $29.5 million.

Believe, costing $5 million to make, is getting a low-key release and is only playing in roughly 1,000 theaters. Distributor Open Road Films also kept its marketing spend to a modest $5 million.